Active Process. Science teachers often think of reading as a. Reading to Learn Science as an

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1 Reading to Learn Science as an Using learning cycles in the classroom can actively engage students in thinking, talking, reading, and writing about science Active Process Victoria Ridgeway Gillis and Gregory MacDougall Science teachers often think of reading as a passive activity and science as a hands-on active process. As middle and high school science teachers, we came to view reading as we viewed science a cognitive process in which learners actively construct their knowledge in a transaction with the text. As we implemented active reading strategies in our hands-on classrooms, two things became apparent to us: first, our teaching was more efficient as students took responsibility for acquiring information outside of class; and second, we often noticed dramatic increases in student achievement, particularly with struggling learners. But how did we do this? How can science teachers help students learn to read science and at the same time teach the content? Can these tasks be accomplished simultaneously? Thankfully, yes. One way to do so is by incorporating classroom strategies that actively engage students in thinking, talking, reading, and writing about science. Strategies must be chosen carefully depending on the target content, the learning context, and the student audience. How do teachers maximize the probability that strategies will be effective? One answer is to use a learning cycle as a guide when designing lessons. In this article, we describe learning cycles in science and reading, including processes involved, and teaching strategies that maximize student involvement and learning. Summer

2 Learning cycles Learning cycles independently evolved in the separate fields of science and reading. The origin of learning cycles in science education is generally attributed to Karplus (1964). Others have modified this cycle. Figure 1 summarizes, though not comprehensively, several science learning cycles. In this section, we refer to the learning cycle phases as (1) exploration, (2) concept invention, and (3) application. The purpose of the exploration phase is to get students ready to learn new concepts through activities designed to raise student interest and identify levels of prior knowledge. In science, it is particularly important to attend to prior knowledge because many students hold scientific misconceptions (Guzzetti et al. 1993). The exploration phase is critical in order to identify misconceptions that will be addressed in the concept invention phase. Although some teachers tend to skip the exploration phase, it is especially important for students in the concrete operational developmental stage (Abraham and Renner 1986). The concept invention phase builds on the exploration phase and involves information input, usually from the teacher or a text. In concept invention, the teacher scaffolds students learning using a variety of instructional strategies. This phase is traditionally viewed as the actual teaching and learning phase, in which students begin to understand concepts as the teacher facilitates student interaction with resources using multiple learning styles. In the application phase, the teacher uses strategies that require students to apply the newly constructed concepts to novel problems and situations. Students take ownership of the new knowledge as they organize, use, and understand the knowledge from a variety of personal and social perspectives. As students apply their F i g u r e 1 Summary of Learning Cycles in Science Education. Karplus (1964) Renner (1985) Abraham and Renner (1986) Exploration Exploration Gathering Data Invention Discovery Conceptual Invention Expansion of Idea Conceptual Invention Conceptual Expansion Lawson (1988) Exploration Term Introduction Concept Application Bybee (1989) 5E Engagement Exploration Explanation Elaboration Evaluation F i g u r e 2 Summary of Learning Cycles in Reading Education. Betts (1946) Herber (1970) Barton and Jordan (2001) Richardson and Morgan (2002) Eisencraft (2003) 7E Elicitation Engagement Exploration Explanation Elaboration Evaluation Extension Vacca and Vacca (2005) Readiness Preparation Preactive Prepare Pre-reading Directed silent reading Comprehension check and discussion Oral rereading Follow-up activities Guidance Interactive Assist Reader-Text Interaction Independence Reflective Reflect Post-reading new knowledge, additional information may be required and the cycle repeats. In this way, the application phase may evolve into the exploration phase of another learning cycle. Similar three-phase learning cycles have been described in the reading field. In a typical learning cycle in the reading field, the teacher (1) prepares students for reading by activating prior knowledge, focusing attention on important ideas and generating a purpose for reading; (2) guides or scaffolds students reading; and (3) helps students transform and personalize information through reflection (Alvermann, Phelps, and Ridgeway 2007). Figure 2 summarizes learning cycles described in reading education. These processes are similar to those described in science. Exploration (science) or preparation (reading) involves preparing students to learn science, whether 46 The Science Teacher

3 through hands-on activities or through reading. Concept invention (science) or guiding and scaffolding (reading) involves guided learning, whether through discussion of the results of a scientific exploration or reading. Application (science) or reflection (reading) involves organizing the new knowledge gained from the results of the exploration or from reading to construct in-depth understanding that goes beyond the classroom. Figure 3 provides a visual summary of a learning cycle that combines elements of the reading and science learning cycles, as we have described them. For clarity, and because the terms describe cognitive processes involved in each phase, we will adopt the learning cycle terminology used by Barton and Jordan (2001) for the remainder of this article: preactive, interactive, and reflective. These terms loosely correlate with the three categories of exploration, concept invention, and application/reflection already described. Learning cycle strategy selection Strategies selected for a lesson depend on a variety of factors. When choosing a strategy for the preactive phase, teachers should consider whether students have sufficient prior knowledge about the topic. Strategies that involve brainstorming work very well in the preactive phase when student prior knowledge is sufficient, for example: brainstorming and mapping responses or generating questions. When prior knowledge is insufficient, several appropriate strategies can prepare students to read, such as an anticipation guide (Readence, Bean, and Baldwin 1998), a teacher-created graphic organizer that can be used to introduce vocabulary, previewing the text to be read (e.g., heading, subheadings, pictures, graphics), and conducting hands-on explorations. An anticipation guide consists of true/false statements that students respond to and discuss before they read (Figure 4, p. 48). Students may reflect on their responses to the guide after reading. These guides are composed of statements that focus students attention on core concepts they will read about in the text and may be designed to address common student misconceptions. [Note: See Duffelmeyer 1994 for information on constructing effective anticipation guide statements.] Responses to anticipation guide statements generally lead to healthy class discussion, which increases student motivation and prepares students to actively read text. The purpose of the interactive phase is to foster student- text interactions that result in comprehension. When reading, individuals focus their attention on text meaning, monitor their comprehension, adjust their reading rate, and use fix-up strategies when text is confusing. Teachers should use explicit strategies that help novice readers interact with text to ensure understanding. When planning for the interactive phase, teachers should consider the amount of scaffolding students need. Strategies chosen for the preactive phase can serve to guide learning F i g u r e 3 The Learning Cycle. PREACTIVE: Prepare for learning (Exploration) Activates prior knowledge Creates purpose Directs attention INTERACTIVE: Guide learning (Concept Invention) Creates new prior knowledge and integrates new with known information REFLECTIVE: Transform and personalize information (Application/ Reflection) Helps learners differentiate important from unimportant information Summer

4 in the interactive phase. Students might annotate concept maps or graphic organizers, answer questions generated during brainstorming, or reconsider responses to anticipation guides as they read. High school teachers might use a variety of strategies to promote active reading, such as paired reading or having students or the teacher read text aloud. In paired reading, students read and respond to each other. One student assumes the reader role while a partner assumes the role of summarizer. Students alternate roles as they read. When students read aloud, they should always read familiar text text When students read aloud, they should always read familiar text... they have previously read silently. In addition, students should read aloud to provide support for an answer or refute another student s assertion. One of the most powerful teaching strategies is modeling the comprehension process by thinking aloud while reading text, which makes thinking public. For instance, while reading aloud, the teacher stops to wonder aloud about a point in the text or a vocabulary term, or make a prediction, connection, or an inference. Teachers should assign appropriate chunks of material to be read based on students abilities, check for student understanding between read- F i g u r e 4 Anticipation Guide Example Newton s Laws of Motion. [Note: All items except #4 are intended to be true, and #4 is true if air resistance is considered, but false if air resistance is neglected. The ambiguity in question #4 is intended to produce rich discussion and inquiry as students process the text and explore Newton s laws.] Name Date Before reading: Place a check mark (P) to the left of each statement if you think the statement is true. During or after reading: Revise your responses as you read. Use the space under each statement to note the page and paragraph(s) where you are finding information to support your thinking. 1. As I sit pushing down on the chair, the chair is pushing up on me. 2. The head of a hammer can be tightened onto its wooden handle by banging the bottom of the handle against a hard surface. 3. A seatbelt acts by providing a force to keep you from continuing your forward motion when a car stops suddenly. 4. If you drop a bowling ball and a baseball off the school roof at the same time, the heavy ball will hit the ground first. 5. A car moves because as the wheels push on the road, the road pushes back. 48 The Science Teacher

5 F i g u r e 5 Graphic Organizer (Concept Map) Matter. Matter is composed of exists as molecules are made up of states of matter example example example atoms solid liquid gas are composed of are composed of electron shells nucleus are arranged in have is composed of is composed of energy levels paired electrons neutrons protons are composed of are found in orbitals F i g u r e 6 Example of Frayer Model Longitudinal Wave. Definition A type of wave in which matter vibrates in the same direction as the wave travels. Examples - Sound - Primary seismic wave - Squeezing and releasing a Slinky Characteristics Longitudinal Wave Matter moves back and forth a certain distance and at a certain frequency. Non-examples - Ocean waves - Secondary and long seismic waves ing chunks of text, and model fix-up strategies. Fix-up strategies that work for us include rereading a sentence or a paragraph, reading diagrams or marginal notes, and reading to the end of a sentence or paragraph to see if the confusion is cleared up. Readings may be assigned based on time limits (e.g., read for five minutes) or textlength limits (e.g., read the next two pages). Chunking the reading allows students to think about what they just read. Several strategies help students interact with text and hold their thinking (Tovani 2000). The INSERT strategy (Vaughn and Estes 1986) involves students using symbols to indicate whether information read is known (P), new (+), information they disagree with (-), or is confusing (?). This strategy works best when students use sticky notes and summarize text information in their own words along with indicating their response to the information. After students have read, noted their responses, and annotated text, information can be reorganized into a concept map during the reflective phase of the lesson. If students have been taught how to make two-column notes (Palmatier 1973) or use text structure to create a chapter Summer

6 map, they might be directed to note the most important information in the text as they read. Regardless of the vehicle chosen to guide student reading, students should be given the opportunity to compare and discuss their text responses in the reflective phase. F i g u r e 7 Semantic Feature Analysis Example Comparing Inner Planets to Earth. Diameter Mass Distance to Sun Rotation Revolution Mercury Venus Mars The reflective phase provides students with a way to discuss, think, and write about the scientific concepts and phenomena under study to construct their knowledge. Strategies used in this phase help students transform and personalize the information. Having students create diagrams, concept maps, and other graphic organizers (Figure 5, p. 49); a modified Frayer Model (Barton and Jordan 2001) (Figure 6, p. 49); or a semantic feature analysis (Figure 7) are strategies that promote relational knowledge, emphasizing connections among ideas resulting in an in-depth understanding of scientific phenomena and principles. Lifelong learners of science There will always be high school students who remain novice readers, and we must look for ways to help all students succeed. The strategies mentioned in this article have been shown to increase student understanding (Alvermann, Phelps, and Ridgeway 2007; Richardson and Morgan 2002; Vacca and Vacca 2002); however, they are not effective in and of themselves. It is the cognitive activity induced by the strategy that matters (Alvermann, Phelps, and Ridgeway 2007). The learning cycle is an effective instructional framework that is in alignment with the National Science Education Standards (NRC 2000, pp ). Both in science classes and in daily lives as informed citizens, students need to be able to read and analyze text containing science content. The learning cycle can enable teachers to help students acquire the literacy skills to become lifelong learners of science. n Victoria Ridgeway Gillis (rvictor@clemson.edu) is a professor of reading education at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina and a former science teacher; Gregory MacDougall (gregm@ usca.edu) is a science specialist with the South Carolina Department of Education Math and Science Unit at the University of South Carolina Aiken in Aiken, South Carolina. References Abraham, M.R., and J.W. Renner The sequence of learning cycle activities in high school chemistry. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 23(2): Alvermann, D.E., S.F. Phelps, and V.G. Ridgeway Content reading and literacy: Succeeding in today s diverse classrooms. 5th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Barton, M.L., and D.L. Jordan Teaching reading in science. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Betts, E.A Foundations of reading instruction. New York: American Book. Bybee, R.W Science and technology education for the elementary years: Frameworks for curriculum and instruction. Boulder, CO: Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. Duffelmeyer, F.A Effective anticipation guide statements for learning from expository prose. Journal of Reading 37: Eisencraft, A Expanding the 5E model. The Science Teacher 70(6): Guzzetti, B.J., T.E. Snyder, G.V. Glass, and W.S. Gamas Promoting conceptual change in science: A comparative meta-analysis of instructional interventions from reading education and science education. Reading Research Quarterly 28: Herber, H.L Teaching reading in content areas. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Karplus, R Theoretical background of the science curriculum improvement study. Berkeley, CA: Science Curriculum Improvement Study, University of California. Lawson, A.E A better way to teach biology. American Biology Teacher 50: , 289. National Research Council (NRC) Inquiry and the national science education standards: A guide for teaching and learning. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Palmatier, R.A A notetaking system for learning. Journal of Reading 17: Readence, J.E., T.W. Bean, and R.S. Baldwin Content area reading: An integrated approach. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt. Renner, J.A The learning cycle and secondary school science teaching. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. Richardson, J.S., and R.F. Morgan Reading to learn in the content areas. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Tovani, C I read it, but I don t get it: Comprehension strategies for adolescent readers. York, ME: Stenhouse. Vacca, R.T., and J.L. Vacca Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Vaughn, J.L., and T.H. Estes Reading and reasoning beyond the primary grades. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 50 The Science Teacher